Stephanie Martinez, CEO of HR Designed for You, sits down with The Face of Latina Professionals podcast and shares her story of being a mixed-race Latina growing up in Chicago.
Stephanie’s father is El Salvadorian and German while her mom is of Polish, German, and Czech ancestry. Growing up in Beverly on the South Side, there weren’t many people that looked like her and didn’t have a ton of friends in her neighborhood. She shares how even when her parents were married, there were people who refused to attend an interracial marriage.
All of this helped shape the woman she is today and her experience as a Latina.
“I think it, it just made me work that much harder. I wanted to make sure that I was always doing my best work, so that it would show who I was and that I was capable of it. It wasn't about how I looked. It was more about what I could do.”
On reflecting what it means to be Latina as a woman today, Stephanie shares how it makes her think of the other women who go through or have gone through the same struggles she has: being a single mom, going back to school, getting a job. She wants to give others what she didn’t have growing up. 
“And I think about the mentors that I didn't have when I was very young and trying to educate me and get me in front of the right people and all of those things. So I want to be there for them to give them those resources so that they don't have to struggle as hard as I did.
Listen to this episode to hear more about how Stephanie went from following a passion of photojournalism to getting her start in HR, how she’s overcome the challenges in her life, and more on this episode of The Face of Latina Professionals Podcast.
